Anybody experience it? Pops up from time-to-time on the X300 board, though I've not had it in mine. Reportedly most prone to occur in the 4.0L/4.2L V-8's IIRC.


Here's my evidence: The wife imagined to go to town this morning with youngest daughter in-tow. I was in the kitchen (where any husband belongs, or so I'm told) and heard rapid cranking emanating from the garage, but no starting hits. I made my way toward the door. By this time she had released the key, set her teeth and tried again. More very rapid cranking but it sounded like a few sparks finding an odd bit of fuel here and there mixed in. Still no start. I quoted the obnoxious Frenchie from "Motocrossed:"
"Well.....THAT didn't sound too good now, deed eet?"
"Can we just take the Excursion?"
"Surely"


So 10 mins or so after they departed, I thought I'd have a go. Slid behind the wheel, actuated the key, and was treated to the sound of a runaway starter motor with a few stuttering hits in there....kept on it for 20-25 seconds and got a reluctant start. Never touched the pedal, at this point. Idled fine after the start, I let it run about 10 mins in the garage before I repositioned it in compliance with the laser park aid my bride insists on ignoring, then shut it down. Here about 6 hours later and a few minutes ago, I carted the 15 yr old off to work in it, a 15 mile round trip of mixed highway and country roads. No problems whatsoever. It did have a P0101 code but that is not unusual, they are sporadically intermittent for several years now over the span of two separate MAF sensors. Seems fine. But as I was cranking it, what came to mind was there seemed to be a distinct lack of compression. Washdown is all I can come up with.


Anybody have a competing hypothesis?


Oh, potentially bearing on the matter, it's last run prior to the problem? It had been sitting several hours on the apron and she fired it and moved it into the garage and shut-down. I wasn't home to see how it came to be out of the garage and on the apron, but pretty sure she didn't go anywhere yesterday, so probably two cold-starts separated by several hours with approximately a minute or less of run-time for each.

 

Simply flooded. All cars hate short shuffle it around the driveway stuff.

 

Possibly, but I've never had a flooding that tormented me 18 hrs later! She parked it in the garage about 5:30 pm Friday, and I guess tried to leave about 11:00 am Saturday.....

 

Not on the V6.

I also agree with the cold start/shutdown scenario.

This I learned all about with the V12 engines.

Mind you I simply do not start and stop any engine when cold. At operating temp no issues. Even a short 2 minute idle has been sufficient for any of mine.

My X300 (3.2) did this once, and I was to blame, as I shut it down a few seconds after starting it due to the serpentine belt leaving the engine bay. Even after fitting another new belt it cranked somewhat before firing, and that engine ALWAYS fires on first rotation, cold/hot.

 

Bore wash is only known on the 4.0, not 3.0 or 4.2, but everyone has you covered

 

One of the predecessors of my S-type, coincidentally with a V6, would lay in wait for me for days on end hoping to punish me for it being inconsiderately shuffled around to allow access to another car. Jealousy I guess.

Retribution frequently occurred on a weekday morning when I was already running late for work and had no time to waste negotiating the terms of cold start protocol. Pedal to the floor while cranking usually worked.

I'm fortunate with this house that the configuration of the driveway and garage means that I rarely need to shuffle. No engine gets started unless it's going to be brought up to full operating temp along with the rest of the vehicle.

 

Alrighty then. The key now is convincing the wife everything's "fine," as she is now certain in lies in wait to sabotage her at some most inopportune time.

 

Get yourself a container of BG44K and add it to your fuel. Cylinder washing is related to the Nikasil blocks that you do not have but fuel presentation is important in any fuel injected cars. Give the fuel additive a try and see what takes place.